


The Demon of the Dark Woods

by Alexander_L



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Action & Romance, Black Eagles Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Demonic Beast Hunters, Dorobert, F/M, M/M, Male My Unit | Byleth, POV Multiple, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Canon, Rare Pairings, Spy Dorothea, The Great Fodlan Bakeoff, felileth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24627091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexander_L/pseuds/Alexander_L
Summary: Hubert protects the empire by tracking down threats in the shadows. Dorothea travels Fodlan to spy and gather intel for him under the guise of touring in an opera troupe. Felix & Byleth hunt down demonic beasts. And Yuri rules the underground. When a mission brings them all together, this unlikely group ends up venturing into a dark, haunted forest in search of an ancient monster said to lurk within.This story combines the canon endings for Hubert & Dorothea, Yuri Leclerc, and Felix & Byleth in Crimson Flower, but imagines what one of their adventures might be.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Hubert von Vestra, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Devotion

**Author's Note:**

> Back on my Rare Pair bullshit with this story for The Great Fodlan Bakeoff! I totally forgot the bakeoff was happening and had no ideas prepared so I pulled this story out of my ass and had a ton of fun writing it. I hope you enjoy reading!  
> I literally posted this 15 min before the deadline with zero editing and no time to read it over so I apologize for any proofing errors. I'll go back over it soon. I wrote this in a one-take feverish haze and flung it out into the internet.
> 
> The themes for the challenge were: _Exploration, Secret, Ambition, Devotion, & Gossip._

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorothea's latest mission as a songstress spy is to find the whereabouts of Yuri Leclerc, who has disappeared after supposedly being kidnapped. But when unexpected friends show up, she knows something larger is going on.

##  Chapter 1 – _Devotion_

###  **Lone Moon, 1188**

  
  


Shivering beside the fire in her dressing room, Dorothea cursed silently at the Faerghus cold.

“I told you we shouldn’t have come this far north on our tour,” her manager muttered without looking up from the paperwork he was examining. “And yet you insisted on us slogging all the way up to this godforsaken wasteland to put on a production even though most of the folk here have never even heard a line of opera in their lives.”

“Which is exactly why they need to hear it most,” she replied, searching through the clothes in her trunk. Maybe tonight the wood nymph would have to wear a wool coat over her thin, ethereal dress. It wasn’t in character, but Dorothea wasn’t sure she could sing if she was shivering.

“Why couldn’t your charity wait until the Blue Sea Moon then?”

“Arlin, sweetheart,” she said, a smile sharp with thinly-worn patience pasted on her lips. “It isn’t charity if we’re paid for it, and Minister Vestra is paying us very handsomely to haul our freezing asses up here to this ‘wasteland.’ Nothing helps ease political tensions like entertainment, after all. We are a gift to the Faerghans and an expensive one. So unless you want to go back to actual charity performances, don’t lecture me about our tour locations, alright?”

Arlin mumbled something bitterly under his breath but let the subject drop. 

“Fifteen minutes, Miss Arnault,” one of the backup dancers said, popping their head into the dressing room briefly.

“Thank you,” she replied, getting up and donning the elegant burgundy wool coat over her costume. She paused for a moment to glance in the mirror, securing the elaborate updo of pinned curls on her head and straightening the lapel of her coat. With a small smile, she picked up the diamond pendant hanging on a long chain between her breasts and brushed her thumb across it.

Her mind strayed briefly to the earnest look in Hubert’s eyes as he had fastened the chain around her neck a year ago and his quiet, dead-serious voice as he had proposed to her in his own kind of way.  _ “From the bottom of my heart, I implore you: walk with me on this path, no matter how bloody or grim it is. And in return, I will love you with the same tenacity and devotion I have for my cause.” _

_ “Our cause,” _ she had told him.  _ “You’re not alone on your path anymore. And neither am I.” _

“Arlin?” she asked. “The chief of police is said to attend tonight’s performance. Is he in the audience yet?”

“Yes. I made note of him as he came in. The steward of this hellhole territory is also here, I believe,” the manager answered.

“Excellent.”

Dorothea left the dressing room and headed towards the concert hall. It was a far cry from the opera halls of Enbarr, but it at least had some private boxes and in one she found her target. As she approached the box, she found a policeman standing guard outside it, but he stepped aside to let her in after looking her up and down appreciatively.

“Miss Arnault!” the police chief said in surprise, offering her a short bow. “What a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is all mine to have such a guest at our performance. I will sing with far more passion knowing that I am safe here with you to guard me.”

“Were you ever concerned about your safety?” he asked. “Because I can have some of my men stand guard outside your rooms, if you wish. It would be no trouble.”

“Oh, I just heard a little rumor about there being a gang in town,” Dorothea said lightly. “But seeing how strong your officers look, I am sure it is of no consequence and I will be quite safe.”

“I assure you, Miss Arnault, you are perfectly safe here. My men and I have taken care of the leader of those thugs and he is behind bars now. You have nothing to worry about. We don’t tolerate petty criminals like that here in my town.”

“I’m glad to hear it’s just idle gossip then,” she said. Perching on the arm of his chair, she asked, “Do you enjoy dancing? As opera is not as common in your land, I have chosen a performance that is focused more on dance. I hope that will please you?”

“That sounds quite pleasing,” the man replied, his eyes straying away from her gaze and across her body.

“Excellent. Well, I’m afraid I must be going. We will start any moment now. I sincerely hope you enjoy the night!” She gave him a winning smile and left the opera box. As she returned backstage, she realized that one of her hands was clenched into a fist at her side and she forced her fingers to relax. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her focus and her resolve, listening as the overture began.

When her cue came, she walked out onto the stage and threw herself wholeheartedly into the performance. No matter the true reasons behind why she was touring, the fact remained that she did love being a songstress still. It was evidence to Hubert’s kindness and love that the role he had offered her to play in their mission was one in which she could enjoy her day-to-day life and pursue her own personal dreams. She could have leveraged her friendship with Petra to be an ambassador to Brigid, worked on legislation with Ferdie or used her magic to fight in the shadows along with Hubert, but instead she got to use her wits, wiles and talents to create art instead of shed blood.

Intermission came before she realized it and as the stage lights dimmed so she could see the crowd, she caught sight of two familiar faces in the front row and gasped.

Felix? Byleth? What were they doing here? After shocking everyone by showing up one day with wedding rings on their fingers and not a word of explanation, they’d promptly vanished from the public eye, except for the occasional story that popped up about two remarkable mercenaries adventuring all across the known world. 

She gave the two of them a warm smile and was about to hop off the stage to greet them but Byleth shook his head slightly and put a finger to his lips. Dorothea nodded and slipped backstage to prepare for the second act. Immediately, her initial excitement at seeing her two old friends was replaced with the realization of why they had suddenly resurfaced.

Yuri Leclerc.

So the gossip and rumors were true. After not hearing from Yuri for months, Hubert had asked her to follow up on a lead that he had gone missing in northern Faerghus. She had followed that lead here and had her suspicions validated by the police chief’s words on arresting a gang leader, but seeing Byleth and Felix confirmed it.

Well, at least she had backup now.

Halfway through forming a plan for the next steps in her investigation, Dorothea heard the music start back up for the performance and had to run back to the stage. She felt distracted at first as she sang and danced, relying on muscle memory and all the long hours of practice she had put in to be able to perform automatically. But when it came to the aria that was her big moment to shine, she forced her mind back to the present.

Felix and Byleth might be here for other reasons, but they had still come to her show and they deserved to see her at her best. For all his taciturn disinterest, she knew Felix loved singing. Once they’d become friends back at the monastery, he’d shown up to all her performances, even though he sat in the back room with a neutral expression the whole time. Sometimes her closest friends wouldn’t even be able to make it, but Felix would always be there.

So Dorothea sang her heart out and ended the performance feeling satisfied in herself. She flashed a quick smile at Felix and Byleth then bowed to the applauding crowd and walked off the stage, heading immediately towards her dressing room.

“Arlin, be a dear and go sweet-talk someone into investing,” she said, shooing him out amidst his grunted complaints.

Closing and locking the door behind him, she ran over to her trunk and changed into a more sensible outfit – warm trousers, tall low-heeled boots and a black silk shirt. She was just reaching for the burgundy coat again when she saw a flicker in the corner of her eye and whirled around, sparks leaping to life instinctively in her hands to defend herself. But from the shimmer of the warp spell materialized a tall, black-cloaked figure.

“Hubie!” she gasped.

The second the spell finished, Hubert collapsed and she dived forward and caught him before he could hit the ground.

“Darling, what’s wrong?” she asked, examining his body for wounds. When she tucked aside his cloak, she found that his left shoulder was torn up and soaked in blood.

“Antidote,” he croaked.

She propped him up against the wall and jumped to her feet, racing over to fish a small vial of potion out of her bag. She returned and placed one hand gently behind his head, pouring the vial into his mouth with the other. His eyes were closed and his forehead was slick with sweat, but he managed to swallow the potion.

Wincing at its acerbic taste, he opened his eyes and looked up at her blearily. “Thank you.”

Dorothea set to work healing the wound on his shoulder and told him, “I found out from the chief of police that his men have arrested some gang members. I’m assuming Yuri is one of them if Byleth and Felix are here to help.”

“So they did show up,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I sent word to them asking for help but never heard back.”

“Neither of them are great at keeping in touch, are they?”

“I fear I am no better,” Hubert replied. He reached out to cup her cheek in his soft gloved hand and she paused what she was doing to meet his gaze. With a faint smile, he brushed his thumb across her lips and murmured, “I have missed you.”

She gave him a teasing smile. “It’s only been a month. I was sure you were still enjoying your peace and quiet without me around chattering at you.”

“When you are gone, I do have more quiet, but far less peace.”

He slipped his hand behind her neck and drew her close to kiss her. Her heart ached with longing and she wanted nothing more than to climb onto his lap and kiss him breathless, but she had work to do. She pulled away before his lips could barely brush hers and said, “Don’t distract me! This is a nasty cut you have. What did this? It’s not a stab wound from a blade. It’s all ripped up and torn.”

“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Just an accident.”

“Hubie… Be honest with me. This looks like a demonic beast took a bite out of you.”

He flinched as she channeled the last of the healing spell and his skin knit back together. “That’s because one did.”

“But they’re supposed to be gone!”

“They’ve been appearing again all over Fódlan. Byleth and Felix have been hunting them down when they crop up, but I haven’t been able to find the source of them. I asked Yuri to look for any stolen Agarthan technology on the black market and I think he might have stumbled onto something.”

“Here?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Some of their weapons were looted from the ruins of Shambhala. I believe the poison they used to turn people into demonic beasts could have been one of them.”

Hubert tried to get up, but he was still shaky from the effects of the poison and the toll of the healing magic. As he swayed unsteadily, Dorothea jumped up and took his arm, leading him over to sit on the settee. 

“We don’t have much time. I followed one of the beasts and it took me to the edge of a nearby forest, but then I was discovered and I had to kill the creature. I must return to the forest with Byleth and Felix and hunt down the source of the beasts,” he said. “Thank you for the spell. Do you have any more antidotes? It would be prudent of me to take some along.”

Dorothea got up and tucked a few potions and other supplies into a pack. “Yes. Let’s go.”

As she picked up her coat, Hubert reached out and caught her wrist, tugging her down to sit beside him. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Hubie, I’ve fought more battles with you than I can count. We are well past the point where you can tell me to stand aside because something is dangerous.”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I do not think you capable of handling danger. It is rather that I do not wish to put you in harm’s way any more than you already are.”

“It’s not your job to protect me,” she said, “You’re not my bodyguard the way you are Edie’s. I’m not a queen or an emperor. I walk by your side, not ahead or behind you. Isn’t that what we agreed to?”

Hubert was at a loss for words for a moment, then he gave up on replying and kissed her instead.

Even though they had been together for quite some time now, it still struck Dorothea from time to time how remarkable the contrast was from the forbidding Minister von Vestra the world knew and the earnest, passionate man she knew. It had taken a long while to break through the layers of Hubert’s reserve, even once their relationship had at last turned romantic in nature. Now that she finally had, it felt sometimes like he was trying to rapidly and longingly make up for a lifetime’s lack of touch and affection.

Despite his restrained manner, Hubert’s nature was one given to ardency and loyalty. Dorothea had never imagined being so cherished and in return for the fulfillment of what had always seemed an impossible dream, she knew she would go to hell and back to fight for him and support him in his ambitions.

There was no use in him trying to convince her to stay behind and he knew that as well as she did.

Some of the pins had come free from her hair and Hubert tangled his fingers in the messy curls as he kissed her. The bitter taste of the antidote lingered in his mouth, but Dorothea didn’t care. Grabbing at the collar of his shirt, she fell onto her back on the settee and pulled him on top of her. He responded with more passion, kissing her so deeply she could barely breathe.

For a couple of minutes they indulged in their reunion. As she wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her hands across his back, he shuddered and his lips strayed from her mouth to her neck. She gasped as he tilted her head to the side and kissed intently the skin right below her jaw, nipping at it with his teeth then running his tongue over it as he kissed and sucked hard enough to leave a mark.

Heat swelled up in Dorothea’s body to the point where she no longer felt the chill in the room and she was about to start unbuttoning her clothes and persuading Hubert that no matter how important their mission was it could wait fifteen minutes. But then a knock sounded on the door.

“Not right now!” Dorothea called, trying to cover up her breathlessness with a clear, cheerful tone. “I will be out in just a moment!”

“Thea, it’s us!” Felix’s voice hissed urgently. “Let us in.”

Hubert sat up straight and cleared his throat, his grave, impassive expression returning to his face as seamlessly as if he had put on a mask.

“Come in,” he said.

“It’s fucking locked!”

“Oh. Right.” Dorothea turned up the collar of her shirt to hide the fresh mark on her neck and took a deep breath. Then she unlocked the door and opened it, ushering Felix and Byleth inside.

“It’s good to see you two!” she said. “I’m glad you’re safe and well.”

“Yeah, we’re fine. Hubert, what’s going on? Why did you send for us?” Felix said, brushing past her.

Byleth however held out his arms and hugged her “It’s good to see you too,” he said in his calm, understated way.

“How’s married life treating you?” she asked him with a playful smile.

“The same as normal life,” he answered simply, “just better.”

“Dorothea has been tracking down a lead on Yuri’s whereabouts and I have been searching for the source of the demonic beasts,” Hubert told Felix and Byleth turned to pay attention to them. “When our trails began to converge here, I sent for you to meet us.”

“You think Yuri was kidnapped here?” Byleth asked.

“Yes. I think he found the stolen Agarthan weapon he was looking for. We need to rescue Yuri and take down the beasts hiding in the western forest, and recover that weapon.”

“Right. Let’s get on with it then,” Felix replied.

“Dorothea, if you could keep the police chief and his officers distracted, that would be exceedingly helpful,” Hubert told her, then looked at Byleth. “Will you go with her in case anything goes awry? I don’t want any one of us going off on our own.”

Byleth nodded.

“Felix, you’re with me. We will warp into the jail and break Yuri out. Then we will all meet up at the trailhead on the eastern edge of the forest at midnight.”

“You want to go in there at night?” Felix asked. 

“The town will be crawling with police once Yuri escapes. We have to make haste before we are discovered,” he replied.

“Hmph. Well, if it’s demonic beasts or these backwoods police, I’ll choose the beasts,” Felix said. 

Hubert was not one for public displays of affection and he merely glanced over to make eye contact with Dorothea and give her a short, encouraging nod. “I will see you soon,” he said quietly.

She smiled back and said, “I know. Say hi to Yuri-bird from me.”

Dorothea expected Felix and Byleth to part ways with similar stoicism but to her astonishment, Felix marched over to Byleth, grabbed his face in his hands and kissed him fiercely.

Byleth grinned at him – the biggest smile Dorothea had ever seen him give – and blushed a bit. “Go fuck them up,” he told Felix. “I’ll see you soon.”

Felix turned to Dorothea and gave her a light punch in the arm that she assumed was supposed to be fond. “Good job with the singing. It was nice. Now don’t get my husband into trouble.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said, rubbing her arm and glaring at him.

Without further ado, he took Hubert’s hand and the two of them warped away.

“What have you done to Felix?” she asked Byleth. “He’s almost sweet.”

“He’s always been like that to me,” he replied.

“Really? How did none of us notice you two pining over each other?”

“No one else spent as much time in the training grounds as we did.”

“That’s fair.” Dorothea straightened her hair and wrapped a silk scarf around her neck, tying it into a neat bow. “Let’s go play our role, Professor. Now let me see your most charming smile.”

The corners of Byleth’s lips quirked in an awkward attempt at a roguish smile and Dorothea sighed. “Oh dear.”

Byleth’s brow furrowed in worry. “Was that not charming enough?”

“Well, it’s probably better than Felix’s. Come along. I’ll do the talking. You just stand behind me and look intriguing and mysterious.”


	2. Gossip

##  Chapter 2 – _Gossip_

  
  


“Nice aim,” Felix said as they materialized from the warp spell inside a barred cell in the pitch-dark, stinking jail.

“It is difficult to get precision when warping such a long distance,” Hubert replied icily. “If you had bothered to study magic at any point in your education, you would be well aware of that fact.”

“Well, go on and warp us out.”

“Give me a moment for my magic to regenerate. Warp spells cannot be cast in quick succession. They are taxing, to say the least.”

“We’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way then,” Felix said. He felt around blindly in the dark until his hands found the seam of the cell gate. Drawing a dagger, he shoved his hand through the gaps in the bars and fumbled around until he touched the chain bolting the door shut. It was tricky to get leverage with his wrist pinned in the narrow gap, but he managed to wedge the blade of the knife through the rings of the chain.

“What are you doing?” Hubert asked in exasperation.

“This is black-sand steel. It can cut through whatever rusty iron this is.”

With a grunt of effort, Felix hacked at the chain, feeling the blade bite into it a bit. Twisting his arm around to get a better angle, he tried again. But before he could cut through it, he saw a figure emerge from the shadows and a familiar voice asked, “Need a hand there, friend?”

“Yuri?” Hubert said. 

“You seem surprised. Did you really think a prison cell can hold me?” Yuri said. “If you did, I’m insulted.”

As Felix’s eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw Yuri pull a key from his pocket and turn it in the lock.

“No, wait!” he gasped as Yuri yanked the door open. His wrist was caught between the bars, for he had greatly overestimated the width of the gap. He couldn’t wrench it free in time and as the heavy iron gate swung open, Felix went with it, staggering along with an undignified yelp. His knife clattered to the ground and Yuri picked it up calmly.

“Sorry,” he said in a tone that was far more amused than apologetic.

“Bastard,” Felix muttered, grabbing his wrist and prying it painfully out from between the bars of the gate. It scraped some of the skin off his hand and he flinched.

“Are Byleth and Dorothea running interference?” Yuri asked Hubert.

“Yes.”

“I assumed as much when I heard one of the guards comment on an opera singer coming to town for a surprise performance. I’m just sorry I missed it. I would have showed up, but I was busy. Give me apologies to Thea,” Yuri said. “Thank you, by the way, for coming to rescue me. It’s a sweet gesture. Very cute.”

Felix cleared his throat and stood up straight, trying to look respectable again. “Why are you sitting around in here if you have the keys to get out?”

“This jail may not be comfortable, but it is secure. Nothing is going to get past those police to find me. Well, other than a powerful warp spell.”

“Did you find any trace of one of the Agarthan weapons?” Hubert asked him.

“I found something better than poison,” he said. “But first, let’s go somewhere a little less damp and rat-infested before we catch up.”

Felix was tempted to make a comment about how Yuri should feel right at home in dark, damp, rat-infested places, but he bit his tongue and reminded himself that he’d promised Byleth he would start being nicer to people. Besides, he liked Yuri well enough. He was a good sparring partner.

“How many guards do we need to deal with?” Felix asked him.

“None. I practically own this place now,” Yuri answered. He summoned a glowing orb of magic to his hands and held it aloft to light the cells as he walked over to the heavy stone door at the end of the corridor.

He knocked and the door slid open. “Mister Leclerc,” an officer said. “I’m sorry; the baker hasn’t smuggled over those pastries you ordered yet. Would you like me to send someone to a different shop?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. If the pastries ever show up, go ahead and have them yourself. I have to check out of here now, I’m afraid. But don’t worry; I left a handsome tip in my cell for you since you’ve been so sweet to me. Bye now! Give my love to the wife and kids,” Yuri replied. He stepped through the doorway and sauntered away.

Felix glanced at Hubert who looked like a crow with its feathers ruffled in anger. It would have been more amusing to him if he hadn’t also failed to take into account the fact that Yuri Leclerc was the last person in the world who would need help breaking out of a jail cell.

As they followed Yuri out of the jail, the officer just about jumped out of his skin. “How in the blazes did you get in here?”

“How indeed,” Hubert said in a monotone and strode past him.

They stuck to the quiet back hallways of the police station and slipped out a side door into an alley.

“In retrospect, a rescue attempt was a waste of time,” Hubert remarked.

“No, don’t say that! I found it quite touching. It was a nice gesture of friendship.”

“As I said,” Hubert replied, “a waste of time.”

Yuri turned to Felix and asked, “How’s By doing?”

“Fine.”

Yuri laughed. “Eloquent as always.”

“He’s happy, I think,” Felix elaborated. “Going back to being a mercenary was good for him. He couldn’t sit around in an office at Garreg Mach grading papers for the rest of his life and be content.”

“You know, I heard some rumors about a demonic beast plaguing a town outside the monastery. Quite a sensational story. The mayor of the town wasn’t doing anything about it and his people were on the verge of a riot. Then one day the severed head of the beast showed up in the town plaza with no explanation. They say no one was hired to kill it. Whoever hunted it down did it from the goodness of their heart.” Yuri smiled. “Are you still mercenaries if you work for free? Or are you just nameless folk heroes?”

“We get paid,” Felix said defensively, then added, “Sometimes.”

Once they were free of the alleyway and on the outskirts of the town, Hubert said, “Enough small talk. What did you learn?”

Yuri surveyed their surroundings carefully then answered in a low voice, “It’s not Agarthan poison or technology. I checked every black market in a hundred mile radius. There’s no mention of anything. But when I tracked the beast sightings here, I decided to hang around and do some investigating.”

“From a jail cell?”

“Some other collectors got wind of me poking around and sent thugs after me to take whatever weapons I found. If I was going to stay in one place for long, I had to find somewhere safe. Anyways, after I bought and blackmailed my way into the police station, I listened to every incident report that came in, everything from missing sheep to foresters and hunters turning up dead in the woods. Each time someone vanished, they either found a corpse or at least some gnawed on bones. No one has disappeared for good. These demonic beasts can’t be people being changed.”

“Then where are they coming from? They aren’t mechanical ones like the kind Cornelia built,” Felix said. “I’ve sliced open enough of their guts to know they’re beasts.”

“That’s what they are. They’re just beasts,” Yuri replied. “And they aren’t being created here. They are simply migrating here.”

“The first sighting was in the forests outside Garreg Mach. The subsequent ones have created a pattern indicative of travel northwards,” Hubert said. “As such, I figured it was a dark mage conducting experiments.”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s a pack of them moving on their own, likely seeking refuge judging by how they have moved further and further from civilization. The forest here is ancient and virtually uncharted territory. It’s said to be haunted so no one explores it. Apparently there are legends of a demon that lurks in it and devours anyone who ventures in too deep. But the legends are from hundreds of years ago. They faded a bit over the years until lately when they’ve been resurrected.”

“You think a pack of demonic beasts has been around for that long? That they migrated down to Garreg Mach for some reason then returned here?”

“I do, in fact,” Yuri said. “I think they’ve been traveling all over Fódlan for centuries.”

“This sounds like one of the ghost stories Mercedes used to tell, not real life,” Felix cut in. “There is a dark mage behind this, not some ancient monster. Demonic beasts are created to serve a purpose. They don’t have minds of their own. They don’t form packs and travel. They just rampage and kill until they are killed.”

“These ones are different. I don’t know why but I intend to find out. So what do you say? Are you boys game to do a little exploring in an old haunted forest?” Yuri asked.

“I do not know if I believe your theory about an ancient monster. I still think someone is summoning them. But either way we must find the source. My plan is to go tonight. Byleth and Dorothea are going to meet us at the trailhead at midnight,” Hubert answered.

“Perfect. I’m in the mood for a good hunt. Sitting around listening to gossip hasn’t been terribly interesting,” Yuri said.

“About that… Next time you disappear and make it look like you were kidnapped, will you be so kind as to drop someone a note clarifying that? Dorothea traveled all the way up here to find you. She could be safe in Enbarr and instead she is in a demonic beast ridden town.”

“My apologies. I didn’t think you all would worry so much about me.”

“You are her friend,” Hubert said in a tone that subtly implied he disapproved of the fact. “It would go against her nature to not feel concern for you.”

“True. She really is too good for a band of shifty lowlifes like us. She deserves better.”

“Indeed.”

To Felix’s relief, Hubert and Yuri shut up after that and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the forest. And in the shadows of the trees at the entrance to the trail, they found Byleth and Dorothea waiting.

As Yuri and Dorothea hugged each other and exchanged enthusiastic greetings, Byleth walked over and picked up Felix’s hand, examining the scrape on it from the cell bars. Of course he noticed it immediately. Nothing escaped Byleth.

“It’s nothing,” Felix said.

“I know, but the blood could make your sword hilt slick and impair your grip,” he answered matter-of-factly. A glow of healing magic flared to life in his hands and he carefully mended the torn skin with a frown of concentration. When he was done, he raised Felix’s hand and pressed his lips to his knuckles.

Felix smiled faintly at him and nodded gratefully. Byleth smiled back and as they turned to the others, he kept Felix’s hand in his own, their fingers intertwined.

It was a silly gesture, the kind of sentimentality Felix was still getting used to even after two years. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to pull his hand away. He and Byleth both had never been good at putting feelings into words. Felix had hardly even spoken the words  _ ‘I love you’ _ again after his awkward, flustered proposal in the Goddess Tower and Byleth never pushed him to. They both found ways to say it in actions instead – a kiss or a simple touch, guarding each other’s back in a fight, staying attuned to each other enough to know what the other needed without speaking.

Felix rubbed his thumb across the wedding band on Byleth’s finger and smiled to himself.

“Well this will make for quite a sensational opera after we are done!” Dorothea exclaimed, interrupting Felix’s thoughts. “Yuri-bird, you will help me write the score, of course, won’t you?”

“If you insist. But I expect a cut from the performances,” he replied.

“Naturally.” Dorothea smiled and pulled her hair free from all its pins, fixing it into a practical braid instead. “Now then. Let’s get going, shall we?”


	3. Exploration & Secrets

## Chapter 3 – _Exploration & Secrets_

  
  


There had once been a day when nothing in the world could scare Byleth. Even now, he was relatively unfazed by pain, impossible to get the drop on and startle, and unintimidated by the slavering bloody jaws of demonic beasts. But, along with the heartbeat that still felt foreign and loud in his chest, a new emotion had taken root in him. It wasn’t fear. No, _fear_ wasn’t the right word. Caution, maybe? Byleth had never been too good with finding the right words.

At any rate, even if he didn’t fear injury and death he felt strongly that he had to do his best to be careful now. Not only did he not have the ability to turn back time a few moments and try again should a spear end up lodged in his ribs or a distant Bolting spell catch him off guard, but he also had to not let himself stray too close to death again because now he had a promise to keep. He had sworn to Felix that he wouldn’t be reckless anymore and he’d sworn to himself that he would never be the cause of grief to the man he loved more than anyone.

That’s why the hair prickled on the back of his neck as he stepped into the cluster of trees and entered the otherworldly labyrinth of the woods. Everything about the place signaled _danger!_ in his mind and he knew that he couldn’t rush in blindly and ignore that instinctual warning anymore. He had to be careful.

With all his senses strained and alert, he scanned their surroundings as they walked, searching for any signs of the beasts. But unlike the peaceful forests that surrounded Garreg Mach or the miles of quiet, snow-dusted pines that covered Fraldarius territory, this forest was alive with noise and shifting shadows. It was hard to discern what sounds were threatening or not.

Shallow brooks laced through the maze of hills, outcroppings of rock, and small ravines. And over every inch of the land was a relentless, smothering blanket of trees. Their boughs were withered skeletal from the winter cold, allowing patches of star and moonlight to filter in through their canopy, and Byleth wondered how stifling the place would be in the summer when those branches were heavy with leaves blotting out every scrap of sky.

“Saints, this place is creepy,” Yuri muttered and Dorothea murmured an agreement.

Felix leaned in and whispered in Byleth’s ear, “We’re not going to find anything in this place. It’s too dense. You and I should go on ahead and try to bait one of the beasts out. The others can attack once it’s revealed itself.”

“That is a bad idea,” Hubert said and Felix shot him an annoyed look for eavesdropping.

“What is?” Dorothea asked.

“Felix and I should go on ahead and bait one out of hiding,” Byleth said.

Yuri, who had been walking next to Dorothea, came over to stand beside him and put his hand on Byleth’s arm. “You’re not invincible anymore,” he murmured, his expression drawn tight with worry. “We do things together or not at all.”

Byleth nodded. “Very well.”

Yuri squeezed his arm then let go. “It must be strange, getting used to being mortal like the rest of us,” he said with a smile. 

Byleth shot him a glare that silently said, _‘Really?’_ He knew Yuri’s secrets and exactly how ‘mortal’ he was. But nothing ever stopped Yuri from teasing, and he knew Byleth would keep his secrets. Byleth kept everyone’s secrets.

“The one who is going to go ahead to bait is me,” Hubert interrupted. “I can warp back to you before I can be cut off. It is the only sensible idea.”

Byleth expected Dorothea to protest, but to his surprise she nodded in agreement. He studied her manner and expression for a moment and decided that it wasn’t indifference to Hubert’s safety at all. It was complete faith in him that he would come back safe to her. Something was different between the two of them now. Was it love? Was that what their trust was built on? Byleth had thought whatever relationship they had to be a practical, professional one, not personal. But Hubert was not someone who easily engendered trust and Dorothea was not someone who gave it without strong reason to.

Deciding to parse out that puzzle later, Byleth turned his attention back to the woods.

“As we saw earlier, your aim is pretty shit,” Felix told Hubert. “How do we know you won’t warp directly into a tree and crack your skull open?”

Hubert shot him a withering look and without further ado, vanished.

The trail they had been following initially had long ago petered out and now they were left with narrow, choked game trails. Byleth took the lead at the head of their group as they were forced to walk single file. He listened intently until a noise finally broke through the hum, rustle and chirp of the forest – the familiar roar of a demonic beast.

“Shit,” Dorothea swore and raised her hands, drawing her lightning magic to life until sparks were glittering across her fingers.

Yuri, Felix and Byleth drew their swords and they all broke into a run, heading towards the sound. After a minute, they burst into a misty glade in which a demonic beast was raging against spells being thrown by Hubert. The moment he saw them, he warped back, taking his position behind the frontline of Felix and Byleth.

The five of them charged the beast and fell into sync with each other out of habit from their war days. It was a wolf beast, but one larger and fiercer than any Byleth had encountered before. Its hide was as thick as armor and it took considerable work from both spells and swords to finally break through it and wound the creature.

With five people, taking down a beast like this should have taken several minutes at most. It took them a quarter of an hour until the beast was at last bloodied and scared that it turned tail and ran just like they wanted it to. Now it would lead them straight to its lair.

They set off after it as fast as their feet would take them. They made it nearly a mile before the beast finally outpaced them enough it vanished into the night. But it made no difference. Felix was one of the best hunters Byleth had ever met, second only to Petra. He took the lead and followed the trail of the creature through the darkness.

But as they pushed onwards into the forest, Byleth noticed that it was growing even more dense and stifling. What concerned him most was the fog. It had started out as thin wisps of mist when they first entered the forest. Now it was thickening into a blanket of eerie vapor so heavy it was impossible to see more than ten or fifteen feet ahead.

It made it feel like one of those nightmares where you run and run but never get anywhere. Without being able to see the forest around them, it suddenly felt void-like and interminable.

Then a glow lit the fog in front of them and a second later a Thoron bolt hit the ground inches from Felix’s feet, causing him to leap back out of the way. It was immediately followed by a strong gust of wind that threw them all off their feet.

“It is a mage!” Hubert said and scrambled up, hurling spells in the direction the wind had come from.

“Wait!” Yuri said. “That’s not dark magic.”

“Whoever it is, they’re still trying to kill us,” Felix growled, attempting to charge the mage but being blasted back by another wind spell.

“Are they?” Yuri said. “Seems like they’re just trying to get us to fall back, to protect us even. Keep them distracted. I’ll be back.” 

Before Byleth could stop him, he leapt off the trail and disappeared into the darkness. More Thoron blasts were launched at them but they always passed an inch from them without striking them. They fired spells in return, but Byleth decided to use his less powerful spells that would injure not kill.

After a minute, he heard a high-pitched cry, followed by Yuri swearing, “What the hell?”

The spells stopped coming and they followed the sound of the cry over to where Yuri was kneeling on the ground, cradling a dark-cloaked figure in his arms. “I didn’t mean to injure her; she just lashed out when she saw me!” he said. “Byleth, why would she be here? What do you know?”

Byleth dropped down to his knees and took the body from Yuri, tucking aside the cloak to reveal a familiar face framed by loose pale blue curls.

“Marianne?” Felix said in surprise.

As Byleth helped Yuri heal the sword wound in her side, he said, “I didn’t know her well. I have no idea why she would be here.”

“There was a rumor she was cursed,” Dorothea said. “Poor thing. Maybe she was exiled here after the war. I thought she died in Derdriu.”

“No one is cursed,” Byleth said firmly. “I didn’t know her well, but I still know that she is good and kind. She will have a reason for attacking us.”

Yuri finished up the healing spell and Marianne’s eyes fluttered open. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, pulling out of Byleth’s arms immediately, even though the effort made her sway and nearly pass out.

“What are you doing here?” Hubert asked sternly. 

Byleth shot him a look that said, _‘Let me do the talking.’_ Then he took a flask of water from his coat pocket and held it out to Marianne. “I’m sorry we wounded you. It was obvious you were not trying to hurt us, only scare us off.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said. It was the same gentle voice that Byleth remembered, hardly louder than a whisper, but there was something different about her expression. Her eyes were not downturned and frightened anymore. There was something fierce and slightly haunted about her manner, as if, just like him, she too were no longer afraid of any horror this world could throw at her.

“We are here to track down the source of the demonic beasts,” Yuri said. “I assume you are too.”

Marianne nodded. “I finally found him.”

Her use of the word _him_ instead of _it_ or _they_ did not escape Byleth. She was hunting a person, not a weapon or group of mages.

“Who?” he asked.

“The Wandering Beast,” she said, bitterness and dread shading the name. She looked earnestly at Byleth and said, “You must go. This is my battle. I can’t have anyone getting hurt in it, even my… my… enemies.”

Guilt ached in his heart and when Byleth glanced around at the others he saw the same feeling mirrored in their expressions. Even though they had ended up sparing Claude and the majority of the Alliance, there had still been casualties and he knew someone as empathetic as Marianne could not have watched their needless deaths without being deeply and painfully affected by it.

“An enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say,” Yuri said. “Help us and let us help you. Whoever is creating and summoning these beasts needs to be stopped and judging by the fact it took the five of us considerable effort to kill one of them, I doubt you can do it on your own, no matter how strong you are.”

Marianne shifted uncomfortably then raised her eyes to look at Yuri. Her expression softened slightly as she stared at him and Byleth wondered if her hatred for him and Hubert perhaps didn’t extend to Yuri. He couldn’t remember everything about those days eight years ago well; sometimes they felt like a whole different lifetimes. But he remembered that some of the students had been very invested in helping the people of Abyss once they were discovered. Mercedes used to work shifts in their infirmary and restock it with potions. Dorothea would bring supplies that she charmed nobles into donating. And even Felix had agreed to help Byleth teach sword lessons to the children. Had Marianne been one of those people? It would fit with her personality to be one given to kindness like that.

Byleth studied Yuri’s expression for a moment and he saw an answer in his eyes, for he knew his body language well enough to read him. Yuri did know Marianne, perhaps even cared about her once. Yuri was both astonished and deeply relieved to see her alive after they all thought she was dead. The way he had been so distraught by wounding her that he had needed Byleth to help him with the healing spells spoke to a stronger emotional reaction than would be expected if Marianne was a stranger to him. 

“Please, Marianne,” Yuri added in a gentler tone. “Let us help you with whatever mission you are on. You must not die here either.”

She got to her feet but stumbled and Yuri caught her arm. She stiffened at his touch like a wild animal and as soon as she was steady she yanked her arm away. But there was no hostility in her eyes as she looked at Yuri and said, “Thank you.”

“Do you know where this Wandering Beast is?” he asked.

“I was following the one you wounded. Its trail will still be fresh. I can smell it. It should be easy to follow,” she replied.

Marianne took a drink of water and handed the flask back to Byleth. “Whatever happens here tonight, you must not speak a word of it to anyone. Promise, Professor?”

“Whatever secrets you have, Marianne, I swear I will keep them,” he answered.


	4. Ambition

##  Chapter 4 – _Ambition_

  
  


Marianne had never looked like a threat and Hubert had never paid her much mind during their school days and during the war, she had barely been a presence in Claude’s army, since she was a medic not a soldier. But now he could see there was much more to her than met the eye. It did not escape him that half-hidden beneath her long black cloak was a silver sword strapped to her hip – a weapon that took incredible proficiency and strength to wield. And to have such precision with her spells, especially Thoron which was so swift it could be hard to control at times, was impressive.

Yes, Marianne might be sweet and delicate-looking, but he did not doubt for one moment now that she was deadly and whatever secrets she held were of a darker nature than anyone would expect. Even small weapons could be devastatingly lethal, after all. Take for instance Lysithea.

“Hubie,” Dorothea whispered, catching up to him and slipping her hand in his. “Felix is reading the tracks and signs of flight but Marianne isn’t looking at the ground. She’s just following the trail like she can sense it. Why do you think that is?”

“I haven’t formed a theory yet. I lack the data,” he said. “I will continue to observe before I make a guess as to what her secret is.”

“As will I,” she replied. She squeezed his hand then let go.

The further they pushed into this twisted, unnatural forest, the more conflicted Hubert felt about Dorothea’s presence. Her spells had remarkable range, making her an excellent counterpart to close-range swordsmen like Byleth and Felix. And she knew Hubert well enough to anticipate his attacks and work well with his rhythm. She was definitely a useful ally to have in a fight and she was keen and observant enough to have valuable insights as to the human element of this mystery.

It was his rational mind that told him these reasons. His heart told him he should never have let her come. Although, to be fair, it was nearly impossible to either  _ let _ or  _ forbid _ Dorothea from doing anything. Her stubbornness was stronger even than Ferdinand’s. He had even seen her win an argument with Edelgard once, which was not an easy thing to do. But perhaps he could have found a way to convince her to stay in the town. Then he wouldn’t have this distraction of worrying about her. In that regard, she was a liability to him. Instead of focusing entirely on their mission, a small part of his mind was continuously preoccupied with keeping her safe.

Hubert could point to the moments throughout the years that had been instrumental in Dorothea earning his respect and eventually his trust. Those were easy to trace. But at what point along the line he had fallen in love with her… Well, that remained a mystery. Even though he knew such deep feelings did not happen all at once and it must have been a slow process of growth throughout the years he knew her, it still had felt like it hit him in the face out of the blue. Perhaps it was just that he had never felt love of the romantic kind for anyone before her and thus had not been prepared to discern its warning signs.

He looked over at her and felt a stab of anxiety in his mind. She was so beautiful, her red coat standing out against the white fog like a rose laid upon the ivory keys of the piano he had bought for her because he craved every chance he had to listen to her fill their home with her music. Perhaps he should not have asked her to serve as a spy in his network. Perhaps he should have encouraged her to sing only at the opera hall in Enbarr and enjoy court life in luxury instead of suffering the danger and risk of a career fighting in the shadows.

Would she have taken it? It was all she wanted when they were young but Dorothea was far from the girl he had known back then. Although she did not long for violence and excitement in the way people like Felix and Byleth did, she did long to be useful, to be valued for her efficacy and power and not just her charms. Walking by his side, aiding in his ambitions, had been the happiest he had ever seen her. And to love was to desire the happiness of the object of your devotion, was it not?

“What are you thinking?” she asked him, studying his worried expression.

“Be careful,” he replied. “We know not what manner of threat lies ahead of us anymore.”

She smiled at him. “You are four of the most powerful warriors in Fódlan. I think I will be safe so long as I keep my wits about me.”

“Five,” he corrected.

“What?”

“You either excluded Yuri, Byleth or Felix or you failed to include yourself in that number.”

Her smile deepened. He could see the words of love in it that they could not speak in public and it flustered him a bit, much to his chagrin. He looked away from her to focus on watching Felix and Marianne. Even after all this time, it seemed inexplicable and extraordinary that someone would look at him like that – especially someone who had seen glimpses of the darkest parts of himself and knew his worst sides as much as his best.

“He’s close now,” Marianne said ominously, stopping and looking back at them. “All I know about him is that he is very old and very dangerous. Maybe you should-”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Yuri said softly, giving her an encouraging nod. “I want to help you.”

His switch from  _ we _ to  _ I _ caught Hubert’s attention. Such trivial things did not interest him, but to be observant of such emotional cues was a necessary habit for a spy.

“I don’t… I don’t understand why. This is my curse, not yours. It’s my problem to solve,” Marianne said.

Yuri took a step closer and answered, “You helped me once. Let me return the favor. I like to pay my debts.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Marianne…”

She gave in and nodded. “There’s a clearing on the other side of this thicket. I believe he is in there. He is asleep, but he will wake when we come close.”

“Asleep? That should give us the element of surprise so we can get one solid strike in without counterattack,” Felix said.

“I propose we-” Byleth began until a piercing howl split the air and they all froze with dread.

“Oh no,” Marianne said. “The others have gathered.”

“How many?” Hubert demanded.

“At least three.”

“Fuck!” Felix swore. “By, what do we do?”

“We stay together, take them one at a time. If we divide up, we will get picked off individually. We’ll have to fight our way through,” Byleth answered.

“Stay close to me,” Yuri told Marianne. “Cover me with your spells. I’ll make space for you with my blade.”

Before any more preparations could be made, a huge wolf came crashing through the trees and leapt from the fog towards them. Marianne knocked it back with a Fimbulvetr spell so it could not crush them with its massive paws and Felix, Byleth and Yuri leapt into action instantly, attacking its legs with their blades to stagger it.

But from the other direction, a great hulking shadow was approaching. Trusting the other four to take care of the wolf, Hubert caught Dorothea’s arm and pointed at the shadow. “Help me hold that one off.”

She nodded and readied her magic. As soon as the beast was within range, they launched their spells at it, causing it to hesitate in fear. Behind them were the savage growls of the wolf and yells of combat, but Hubert forced himself to ignore them, aiming two more spells at the approaching beast.

It still had not emerged from the fog but it was close.

“What the fuck…” Dorothea whispered in horror and disbelief as the beast resumed its approach. 

Hubert’s mouth fell open in shock. The shadow had not been close; he had just assumed it was given its size. Now as the beast stepped closer and closer, its figure continued to grow until it was twice the size of any creature Hubert had ever seen before.

“Fall back!” he shouted at the others. “Kill that one and fall back! Immediately!”

Byleth cast a glance over his shoulder at the approaching shadow and swore loudly. He and Felix struck the final blow together on the wolf and as its body collapsed, they ran past it, trying to escape into the fog.

“What is that?” Felix asked. “Marianne, what the hell?”

“It’s the Wandering Beast!” she said, her face pale as a ghost. “Oh goddess, protect us…”

“Yes, but what is it?” Hubert persisted.

“It was a man who was cursed to be a beast because of his crest,” she answered.

“That thing was once a man?” Dorothea asked. 

She stumbled over a rock and Hubert grabbed her hand to steady her as they ran. Over his shoulder, Hubert launched a powerful Banshee spell at the beast, hoping it would slow its pursuit. It was not running after them yet, but its massive, stalking steps covered three times the ground as theirs. They were certainly not going to outrun it once it decided to hunt them in earnest. But if they could get somewhere where the fog was less thick and they had better visibility they could stand and fight.

“Marianne, which way is the clearing?” he called. “Take us there!”

She switched directions and they followed her. Having plunged off the trail, they now had to struggle to make their way through the forest. Felix, Byleth and Yuri slashed away encroaching branches with their blades but they still had to shove their way through heavy ferns and thorned bushes and watch their step for fallen branches, jutting rocks and holes.

Heart pounding wildly, Hubert hoped they could make it to the clearing in time. It was moments like this he almost wished there was a goddess so that he could have the weak, irrational comfort of praying for help to something more powerful than himself.

Behind them the beast’s steps quickened to a loping run and the ground trembled beneath its paws. The shadow grew even bigger but right before it could reach them, they burst free of the clawing arms of the trees and out into a wide clearing. Marianne swiftly set to work sweeping away the mist with wind spells and Yuri and Byleth helped her while Dorothea and Hubert fired Thoron and Mire spells to try to hold the beast at bay.

But no spell in the world could stop it from bearing down on them. The fog had only just cleared when the beast careened into the clearing, skidding to a stop and letting loose a roar that shook Hubert to the bone.

He had long ago trained his mind to not be clouded by fear. But the terror that spiked through his body was not one he could consciously control. It was so deep and instinctive he was powerless to contain it. It was the feeling of being prey staring directly into the hungry jaws of a predator.

With a battle cry, Felix charged the beast, deftly dodging its snapping jaws and slashing at its neck. Byleth was at his side in an instant and as they drew the beast’s attention, the rest of them leapt into action. Yuri switched his killer blade for a Levin sword and attacked from a slight distance so as to not get in Byleth and Felix’s way. And Hubert, Dorothea and Marianne bombarded the beast with a barrage of spells.

The explosion of violet Banshee light, blinding lightning and the bright flash of a faith magic spell staggered the beast. It was only for a split-second, but Felix and Byleth were nearly as swift as a spell themselves and they managed to land a significant attack on the beast’s leg, piercing through its thick hide just enough to strike at the vulnerable flesh underneath.

The beast roared, thrashed, and a haunting voice reverberated through the clearing. “Nothing will stop me from feasting upon your flesh and blood!”

Hubert’s blood ran cold. It was sentient. It  _ spoke _ . 

“No!” Marianne yelled. “I won’t let you!” She fired a Fimbulvetr spell so powerful that the shards of ice pierced through the creature’s neck, sending a spray of blood raining down. But even that blow did little more than enrage it.

“You will die for that, my child,” it growled and lashed out at her. It attacked far faster than she could react and its teeth ripped into her arm and shoulder. She screamed in pain and the beast jerked its head to the side, throwing her like a ragdoll across the clearing.

“Marianne!” Yuri cried.

“Heal her! Hurry! We’ll hold him off!” Byleth ordered.

Yuri bolted away after Marianne and the rest of them doubled down their attacks, working desperately to make every strike and spell count, to coordinate with each other without missing a beat or exposing a single weakness in their defenses.

The struggle was fiercer and more terrifying than some of the battles Hubert had faced in the war. It demanded every ounce of concentration from him and every shred of magical power he held within him. Focusing purely on the fight, he shoved aside all other thought and emotion. 

Little by little, they whittled through the beast’s defenses until Hubert could feel its rapid breaths heaving and the grass was splattered with its blood. Finally, a definitive opening appeared and Felix sank his blade deep into its neck. Hubert expected that blow to fell the beast. Instead it did the exact opposite.

The beast snapped.

“DAMN YOU!” it roared so deafeningly Hubert’s ears rang and pain exploded in his skull.

The beast thrashed and threw Felix across the clearing, his blade flying along with him. Byleth yelled and tried to follow him but the beast attacked, knocked him back and caught his arm in its teeth. Hubert heard the crunch of shattering bone and winced.

But it was not Byleth’s sword arm that the beast caught in its jaws and as its teeth tore into him, Byleth swung his blade around and stabbed it straight into the beast’s eye. It let go of him and staggered back a step, shrieking.

“By!” Dorothea rushed to his side, healing magic glowing in her hands to seal up the wound before he bled to death.

Racing in front of them, Hubert drew upon his magic so desperately that it burned within him like a dying star, an uncontainable inferno of dark, violet fire that burst forth from his palms and engulfed the creature’s head, searing into its wounds and burning through its hide.

The beast reared up on its hind legs and roared, then collapsed. Forcing his magic past its limit, Hubert fired two more spells and was rewarded with a dying whimper from the beast, then silence.

Its body disintegrated into ashe, leaving a foul smell of blood, smoke and rotten flesh heavy in the air. And where it stood there now lay a large, glowing blade. A Hero’s Relic.

Hubert dropped down to one knee, gasping for breath, his body racked with shivers and stabs of pains from his dangerously depleted magic.

“Hubie! Help!” Dorothea called and he dragged himself over to her where she was trying to heal Byleth’s wounds. “It’s bad and I don’t have much magic left!”

“Neither do I,” he rasped in a hoarse whisper. “Yuri…”

Dorothea shouted for Yuri and clamped her hands over the remaining wound in Byleth’s shoulder that she was struggling to seal.

Hubert tried to get his bleary mind to focus. The fight was over but something in the back of his mind was warning him that something was wrong. But what?

Three. 

Marianne had said three beasts, hadn’t she?

As if his dawning terror had summoned it, a wolf leapt from the shelter of the trees and charged at them, snarling viciously. Dorothea screamed and tried to fire a Thoron bolt at it but only weak sparks sputtered from her hand. Her magic was at its limit too.

Hubert’s mind raced in terror. They were defenseless. Yuri was running towards them but he wouldn’t reach them in time. And the beast had come because it smelled blood. It would go for the defenseless prey first. It would go for Dorothea and Byleth.

He knew not how, but he found himself on his feet, adrenaline propelling him forward towards the only weapon he could think of: the relic.

“No!” Dorothea shouted. “Don’t touch it! Hubie, you’ll-”

There was no power of magic left within him, but he felt a different kind of power surging up in its wake. Desperation.

Grabbing the hilt of the sword, Hubert ignored the way it seared his palms and sent shockwaves of sickening pain through him. As the wolf bore down on them, Hubert swung the sword at it with a scream.

His first slice tore through the creature’s leg with as little effort as a knife through bread. The relic sword glowed bloody red in his hands and he could feel its power gripping him, using him as much as he used it.

His next strike slashed across the beast’s neck.

His vision was going red and his pulse was pounding in his ears so loudly he couldn’t hear anything else. He felt pain shuddering through him down to his very bones. Something dark and monstrous rose up in his core so strongly he thought it would tear through his ribcage and explode from his body, ripping it open like a husk.

His third strike hacked the head off the wolf’s shoulders.

The fight was over, but he didn’t stop there. He slashed the blade across the beast’s head again and again, splashing blood across him until he could feel it streaked hot and cloying across his face. Then his vision went blind and the pressure inside him built to a point where he feared he could contain it no longer.

Suddenly, lightning spasmed across his body, paralyzing him and causing the sword to drop from his grasp. Another blast hit him and he collapsed. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and he barely processed the voice calling his name and the hands bright with healing light that touched him. Then his consciousness failed and he slipped away into darkness.

He awoke to the feeling of arms around him and the sound of quiet, muffled sobs. Pain split through his head as he blinked his eyes open and tried to move.

“Oh goddess,” Dorothea said. “Hubie? Hubie, are you awake?”

He blinked and focused on her face hovering above him, tears glistening in her eyes and a look of anguish on her face. Slowly, he reached up a shaking hand and cupped her cheek in his hand. “Thea…”

“What were you thinking?” she said, anger and love competing in her eyes. “You don’t have a crest, Hubie! That could have killed you! Or worse! How could you do that?”

“I didn’t… I was out of magic. It was my only option.”

“I thought you were careful! Smart! You’re not supposed to throw your life away like that!”

“It was going after you, Thea. It was a risk, but it was the only reasonable choice I had.”

“Reasonable?” she said bitterly. “It was a choice but it wasn’t a rational one!”

He sighed and closed his eyes, brushing his thumb across her cheek and comforting himself in the familiar feel of it. “No, I suppose it wasn’t. But I couldn’t let it get to you.”

Dorothea pulled him up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms tighter around him, burying her face in his neck. “I love you,” she whispered. “I love you more than anything. Don’t ever do that again.”

“I cannot make a promise I do not know if I will be able to stick to,” he replied, stroking her hair. “You are too precious to me to not protect. Surely you understand that.”

“The empire would fall without you,” she murmured, her voice thick and hoarse with emotion. “It will still stand without me.”

Hubert knew that she was right and for a long moment, he did not know how to reply. The words that came to mind, quite irrationally, were that no ambition was more important than her, that somewhere along the line his priorities had shifted and he hadn’t fully realized how much until that moment when he made his choice.

But would she even believe him if he said something so sentimental?

Likely not. He hardly believed himself. And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling.

“I love you,” he said simply, unsure of what else he could possibly say at the moment. What he longed to tell her he would have to say with actions throughout the coming years. Actions always spoke far louder than reckless words spoken in the volatile aftermath of a battle.

Dorothea choked on a sob and Hubert felt her tears against his skin. He brushed the hair out of her face and pressed his lips to the side of her head. “I love you,” he said again. “And I cannot walk my path without you.”

He left it at that and to his relief, Dorothea did not question it. She tipped her face up and kissed him. Hubert knew that the others were nearby, that they were not alone, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to care. Throwing his reservations aside, he kissed her back with abandon.

Even though it was some time before they broke apart, it still felt too soon and left his body aching for more. 

“Can you stand?” Dorothea asked him.

Hubert took stock of his body and energy and nodded. Dorothea helped him to his feet and he looked around the clearing, now lit brightly with moonlight. Yuri was sitting a ways away with Marianne cradled in his arms and Felix and Byleth were on their feet, conversing in low, worried tones. The relic blade lay on the ground a ways away.

“Is she going to be alright?” Hubert asked Yuri, nodding at Marianne.

“Yes,” he replied softly. “But it will be a painful recovery. The beast nearly killed her.”

“She has a crest, does she not?” he asked.

“I believe so. She told me once it was her curse.”

“Then that blade belongs to her.” Hubert took a deep breath to steady himself, for he still felt weak and shaky. He gripped Dorothea’s hand tightly and said, “Answers can come once we are safe. Let us leave this place.”

Felix and Byleth walked over and to Hubert’s surprise, they both hugged him. 

“Don’t you fucking die on us, you bastard,” Felix growled. “That would be a really shit way for the play Thea is going to write to end.”

“My apologies,” he said. 

Dorothea laughed and the beautiful, clear sound dispelled some of the darkness that hung over his spirit. He could see the effect it had on the others too, lifting their hearts as well. She had that remarkable power over people and it was a much-needed one in moments like this.

“It will need a sensational title. How about  _ The Haunted Forest _ ?” she said.

“No half measures,” Yuri said, picking up Marianne’s limp body and walking over. “An opera must be as dramatic as possible. Call it  _ The Demon of the Dark Woods _ .”


End file.
